China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the appointment of a new assistant minister on Tuesday, tasked in dealing with Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao affairs.

Wu Jianghao has been appointed for the position, reported Shanghai-based newspaper The Paper on Tuesday. He is reportedly responsible for the Asian regions, boundary and maritime affairs, as well as foreign affairs related to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao.

Critics have described Wu’s appointment as part of a structural revamp signaling a return to the hardline approach to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao affairs that had previously been adopted by the mainland before the 1997 handover.

Wu, 57, previously served as the director of the foreign ministry’s Asian department, the deputy director of the foreign ministry’s protocol department and the Chinese ambassador to Sri Lanka.

Veteran China watcher Johnny Lau said the creation of the new position indicated that Beijing may believe foreign intervention in Hong Kong was no longer at a diplomatic level, but instead, directly influencing Hong Kong’s external affairs and its people.

In a retaliatory measure, the mainland has imposed a new directive on American diplomats with U.S. diplomatic staff in Hong Kong now having to obtain permission from the foreign ministry before meeting local officials or politicians, the South China Morning Post reported on Sunday.

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play